There are numerous prior art patents disclosing various types of sleeve-like items which are specifically designed for a wide range of different purposes. Representative of these include U.S. Pat. No. 4,006,495 (Jones); U.S. Pat. No. 3,837,007 (Giresc); U.S. Pat. No. 2,326,422 (Weisberger); and U.S. Pat. No. 1,296,430 (Riley). Though the prior art shows a large number of sleeve-like items designed for many purposes, none of them specifically deals with a warm-up sleeve to be worn by a bicyclist, and none employ a securing technique capable of effectively keeping such an item in place on the arm of the wearer while he or she is engaged in bicycling activity.
Bicyclist arm warmers in use today include tubular members that have ends rimmed with or attached to rubber bands that grip the upper and lower arm of the wearer. For the most part, these arm warmers are formed from flat fabric that is seamed together to complete the tubular member. The yarn used to form the fabric is typically rubber or a combination of rubber and nylon yarn.
The incorporation of an elastic band in the upper end of such an arm warmer is designed to hold the upper edge of the item snugly about the arm of the wearer. In many instances, however, this securing technique does not retain the sleeve in place on the arm of the wearer during physical activity and thus, other features are required in order to ensure that it stays in place.
Game or sport associated accessories of many varieties are developed to reflect team colors or team logos so that team members are readily identifiable when they wear or use such accessories. Bicyclists wear numbers and colors of many varieties on shirts. helmets or other accessories. There has yet to be fully developed and totally received a common element or accessory for reflecting such identification in bicycling circles.
It is, therefore, to the development of a functional, superior fitting, and easily adjustable bicyclist's sleeve and the identifying capabilities that such a sleeve will provide that the present invention is directed.